The 2015 Spring season schedules are posted. Click on the “Schedules” tab above to see them.
Tryouts for the Varisty, JV, and Freshmen squads start on Monday, March 2nd. Please check with the AD’s office to confirm the dates and your eligibility requirements. All participants must have a blue card to take the field.
In keeping with the idea that Crater Baseball is an organization and not a business, our web address is changing to CraterBaseball.org. The old dot com address will soon go by the way. Please bookmark CraterBaseball.org. Thanks!
The Comets concluded their solid season with an 11-7 semi-final loss to Roseburg. Congratulations to the Crater players and coaches on a fine season.
Crater found itself on the wrong side of a 5-1 loss to North Medford tonight at Harry & David Field. Crater mustered only one run on four hits, while surrendering 13 hits to North. The Comets play an elimination game tomorrow (Saturday) at 1:00 versus Roseburg. North will attempt to eliminate LaGrande, but North is guaranteed a spot in Sunday’s championship.
The Comets came from behind to knock off a tough LaGrande team with a 6-5 win. Crater trailed 1-5 heading into the bottom of the 6th inning, but immediately loaded the bases. Dylan Pearce then tripled to right-center, making the score 4 to 5, but was himself stranded at third. Gunnar Asher lead off the bottom of the 7th with a double down the left-field line and Neil Bastendorf followed with a bunt. The ball was about to roll foul, but the LaGrande catcher fielded it and attempted to throw out the runner advancing to third, giving Crater the tie when the ball rolled into left field. After another bunt to move Bastendorf to 2nd, Nate Jenkins singled in the winning run. Gunnar Asher, who pitched to one batter in the 7th, earned the win on the mound. The Comets now take on North Medford at 7 p.m. on Friday night.
Crater defeated Roseburg Pepsi in their first game of the 2014 American Legion A Tourney at Harry & David. The win advances them to the 7:30 p.m. game tomorrow (Thursday) versus the winner of the South Medford/LaGrande game. Crater turned four non-traditional double plays including a pivotal 2-6-5-4. The Mail Tribune story about the win can be viewed by clicking here.
The Crater Baseball American Legion A team won the 2014 league title and now moves on to the state tourney, which this year is being held at Harry & David Field. The team’s first game is Wednesday, July 30th, at 12:30 against Roseburg Pepsi. The Mail Tribune ran an excellent article on the tourney, which can be read by clicking here.
The Varsity baseball infield is currently being resurfaced by long-time D6 groundskeeper Jeff Peabody and his staff. The old infield had been showing serious signs of deterioration after more than twenty years of play. Special thanks to Bullet Rentals for donating some of the heavy equipment. Due to the field work, all American Legion games are being held on the JV field.
Crater Baseball swept the top conference awards and had six first-team selections including Ty Fox (Pitcher of the Year), Taylor Tibbets (Player of the Year) and Coach Campbell (Coach of the Year for the 2014 Southern Oregon Hybrid season. You can see the complete list and read the Mail Tribune article by clicking here. Fox and Tibbets also earned first-team all-state honors. Ty Plankenhorn and Blake Fahndrich were second team All-State and Tyler Applin and Nolan Bastendorf earned Honorable Mention. To see the full list of All-State recipients and read the article from The Oregonian, click here. Congratulations to all the boys on a fantastic season.
One of the best seasons in Crater Baseball history came to an end last Friday with a 3-8 loss in the State Quarterfinals. Although a state championship eluded them, the 2014 Comets will be remembered as an exceptional team. After narrowly missing out on a state championship berth last year, the boys went out and won the American Legion ‘A’ State Championship, then traveled to Wyoming and won the Regional Championship. In the Spring they soared through what was arguably the most challenging schedule ever created for a Crater team, finishing the regular season 21-5. They also were the runner-ups at the Fresno Easter Classic, a tournament comprised of numerous nationally-ranked programs. They won the league championship and finished the Oregon season ranked number one in the Coaches Poll and number one in the Power Rankings. But, as Coach Campbell says in the article about the quarterfinal loss, baseball is a funny game. It can change on something as simple as an odd bounce of the ball.
We’ve had some fantastic teams at Crater, including the 2000 and 2007 State Champions, but these ten seniors were not only athletically successful, they have also been a great group of young men, setting a high standard for demonstrating positive character, work ethic, and good nature. Tyler, Paul, Taylor, Ty, Blake, Joey, Zach, Buck, Tanner, and Nolan, it has been a pleasure to have coached you. The entire coaching staff wishes you well in all your future endeavors.